


Honesty is a Cruel Queen

by livin_la_vida_fandom



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, because i like hurting my faves apparently, but it's okay juleka is here to save her poor brother's heart, but lukanette is the plot device i guess, feels device?, focus is on juleka and luka's relationship, heartbroken luka, i haven't done this in a WHILE i forgot how to tag, i may have accidentally made her meaner than she is to torture luka, or actually very cruel marinette, slightly angry juleka, slightly cruel marinette, supportive juleka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:02:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26991850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/livin_la_vida_fandom/pseuds/livin_la_vida_fandom
Summary: Luka is a mess and Juleka wishes there was more that she could do to help her brother heal, but feelings are a complicated affair, and sometimes, secrets are better kept under lock and key.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Juleka Couffaine & Luka Couffaine, Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	Honesty is a Cruel Queen

**Author's Note:**

> It's been WAY too long since I've posted anything, and it's been just as long since I've /written/ anything, and I miss it but man, sometimes the inspiration just refuses to make an appearance.
> 
> This has been sitting on my computer for ages now, and I've finally sat down, and revised and edited it, and added and cut some things here and there and I decided to just shove it into the light.
> 
> I will say that I am afraid I didn't do Marinette's character justice, but this is a fic and I kinda needed Luka to suffer (sorry babe), so do excuse me and believe me when I say that I love both Marinette and Adrien and the rest of the gang, and if there are plans to kidnap them and take them away from the ownership of the current legal guardians, I will gladly join the fight.
> 
> Finally, Lukanette /does/ play an important role in this fic, but the focus is on the siblinghood between Juleka and Luka, and the fic is kind of from Juleka's pov, so, fair warning. Also, it's a lukanette angst. But our boy /will/ get through it.
> 
> Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!

“I’m not going.”

Luka sat with his back turned to Juleka, looking at the sunset, eyes unfocused, strumming a tune on his guitar with no real rhythm or melody, that still managed to convey the crushing sadness he felt. Juleka already expected this kind of answer, but refused to back down. Just a week ago he seemed fine – certainly not the happiest he’s ever been, but a far cry from the broken man he was now. She couldn’t understand what caused the sudden shift in his behavior, but she was determined to at least comfort him, if not get the truth out of him.

She sat on the floor behind Luka, legs crossed, trying to formulate a sentence in her head that wouldn’t end up being interrupted by her brother as soon as it left her mouth. Unfortunately, she came up short, and the only thing she could do was sigh heavily, and call his name in a way that never failed to express her exasperation.

“Luka-“, she started, but as expected, he cut her off immediately.

“I have a gig scheduled for that evening”, he said, knowing very well how defensive his voice sounded.

“Only because you scheduled it on purpose”, Juleka replied accusingly, but regretted it as soon as she saw her brother flinch and heard the poor guitar make a noise that could only be described as screeching - Luka and that guitar of his _did_ have a deep connection. Juleka sighed again and, after Luka gently laid his guitar down, she approached him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, which he gratefully accepted. His hand came up to squeeze one of hers. He squeezed it so hard that, had Juleka not been a stubborn girl who grew to hate showing any kind of weakness to her worrywart brother, she would have let out a cry of pain. Instead, she just hugged him tighter and leaned her head against his own.

“We’ve known this would happen for a while now. You’ve had time to prepare. You promised us you would be fine, Luka.”

Luka shifted in Juleka’s arms, so she released her hold on him. When Luka finally turned to face her, Juleka’s breath got painfully stuck in her throat. Her brother rarely showed any kind of negative emotion on his face, but now, he had dark circles under his eyes, red and swollen from what must have been an hours-long crying session. His face, too, was red and blotchy, and he had the most heartbroken look in his eyes. Not that Juleka could blame him – few could remain impassive in the face of the love of their life marrying another.

“I know, Jules”, he whispered, and Juleka’s heart broke again at hearing the hopelessness in her brother’s voice.

Still, he _did_ know this would happen eventually, and he _did_ promise that he would be okay, so Juleka couldn’t understand what was happening. Throughout all these years that Marinette and Adrien were dating, he seemed to be growing accustomed to it. Sure, the first few months were pure torture for him, Juleka could see that, but bit by bit he started getting better (or at least that’s what they thought), and after a while, he even went back to being Marinette’s close friend, and became somewhat of a friend to Adrien as well. They both adored him and depended on him, which was something Juleka would always resent Marinette for. Even though she was her friend, Juleka couldn’t just ignore the fact that Marinette was treating her brother in the same – or rather, worse – way Adrien used to treat her, and shouldn’t she know just how much that _hurt_? Luka helped them with whatever he could, without expecting anything in return. He honestly just wanted them to be happy.

Selflessness, however, had its limits, and it turned out her brother was not as okay as he pretended to be.

* * *

When Adrien and Marinette announced their engagement seven months ago, Juleka found Luka, who rarely ever drank, passed out in his apartment. After she nursed him back to his normal self she demanded to know what the hell happened, and why he had been lying all this time. Luka explained that he didn’t want to worry anyone, that he’d genuinely thought he would be okay, but most of all, he didn’t want to be pitied. Juleka, like the caring sister she was, smacked his already pulsing head and then wrapped him in her arms, allowing her blouse to soak up his tears.

They spent the entire day reminiscing about their childhood, the happy and (sometimes too) carefree days spent on the houseboat with their hurricane of a mother. They watched the stupidest movies they could find and made fun of them, and sang along to all kinds of songs (just not love ones). When Luka fell asleep, Juleka called their mother and Rose to inform them that she would be staying with him for a few days, and gave them a short rundown of the situation, promising to go into details later, when she could. The next few days, all three women filtered in and out of his apartment, Rose fussing over him, Juleka comforting him quietly, and his mother offering her very own brand of tough love, which both Luka and Juleka learned to appreciate. When Luka finally got back on his feet, the women agreed to leave, under the condition that he was to report to them every day, and that at least one of them had to visit him once every two days, to check if he was eating and sleeping.

After some time had passed, Luka managed to recover. He responded to Marinette and Adrien’s worried inquiries by lying that he had had a bad case of flu that took him some time to get over, but he was fine now, and it was so nice of them to be so worried.

Would he come to their wedding? Of course. He wouldn’t miss it for the world.

When Juleka heard what Luka had promised them, her first reaction was to stare incredulously at her brother, and her second was to hit his head (she was doing that quite often those days). Luka had just laughed at that, ruffled her hair, thanked her for worrying, and promised that this time, he really was fine - the “flu days”, as they had dubbed them, had helped him immensely, and now he could honestly be happy for the couple. Of course, some hurt would stay, but Luka appreciated their friendship too much to let it be ruined. So he did his best to assure a very skeptical Juleka that everything was fine and that he could get through it.

Juleka had never hated being right when her brother was in the wrong more.

* * *

Here they were, months later, less than two weeks until the wedding, and her brother was an even bigger mess than before. At this point, she couldn’t decide who to hate more – her stubborn, self-sacrificing brother, herself, for believing him when he said he would be alright, or the stupid happy couple that had caused all of this in the first place, with their ignorance and unintentional selfishness.

(Maybe Juleka herself should skip the wedding too.)

After Luka sniffled a few more times, unable to form coherent sentences at the moment, Juleka sent him to the bathroom to have a cool shower. She informed him that she would be waiting on the couch and that this time he wouldn't be able to get away without telling the whole truth. Luka seemed reluctant at first, but eventually, with a small nod, he accepted her demands and lost himself in a long shower (which Juleka hoped wasn’t just a camouflage for more crying). He exited visibly less red and swollen, and maybe even, Juleka hoped, more collected.

Luka went over to the fridge and pulled out a pack of orange juice (their childhood favorite), poured it into two glasses, and sat next to Juleka. For a while neither of them spoke, sipping their juice quietly, Luka with a somewhat distant, but not dejected look in his eyes, and Juleka glancing his way every few seconds. Eventually, he let out a long sigh.

“Promise me you won’t get angry at anyone right away. I honestly can’t deal with that right now.”

Luka’s words confused her, but Juleka deduced that the best thing to do in this situation would be to agree to his request, so she nodded and, because Luka still wasn’t looking at her, added a small _“okay”_.

“I…”, he started, but then stopped himself, probably to gather his thoughts. “Marinette was here yesterday”, he finally continued, “and… Well, she… She said some things. We talked about some things. She said it didn’t feel right keeping them from me.”

Juleka could already guess what her brother was hinting at, and despite promising him that she wouldn’t get angry at anyone, she could feel her blood boiling. It was a good thing _Ladybug and Chat Noir_ got rid of Hawkmoth a few years ago. It was ironic they were the ones invoking such emotions in the first place.

Luka, sensing her agitation, brought his hand to hers and Juleka squeezed it right away, in a show of comfort, but who was comforting who was unclear at this point.

“Look”, Luka said, “you know Marinette. You _know_ how secrets weigh heavily on her. Had she not said anything now, she probably would have slipped sometime in the future, and who knows how that might have ended up.”

Juleka nodded tersely and tried _very hard_ not to hit her brother for still defending the woman who stomped on his heart. She took a few deep breaths to collect herself, and then continued the conversation.

“I have a vague idea of what she told you, but I need to hear it for sure.”

Luka shifted uncomfortably.

“Luka”, Juleka repeated, an added edge in her voice, but the man still seemed unable to bring himself to admit what was said to him only yesterday – ten years after they met, seven after she started dating Adrien, two weeks before her wedding.

Finally, he took a shaky breath.

“She confessed she liked me.”

Juleka closed her eyes, drawing in another deep breath, squeezing Luka’s hand so tightly her knuckles turned white and his fingers an angry red. Next to her, her brother choked back a few sobs, muttered _“shit”_ under his breath, and then proceeded to break down despite all of his attempts not to. Juleka’s hand let go of his and joined her other hand on her brother’s back, rubbing soothing circles into his skin, whispering _“hush now”_ and _“it’s okay”_ , despite not believing her own words; despite her, too, crying silent tears. Juleka couldn’t understand why her brother, this soft yet strong, kind-hearted and gentle soul, had to suffer at the hands of a woman who was just as kind, just as helpful, just as gentle, but oh so _cruel_ when it came to the matters of her own heart. Juleka wished she could hate Marinette, she did, and a part of her probably despised her, but she couldn't help but remember all the times the girl, the _woman_ , helped her with her issues. She couldn’t forget that she wouldn’t be half as confident as she was now had it not been for her, and she could only curse the day that Marinette and Luka, two people so selfless and full of love, crossed paths and forever became entangled in a triangle in which at least one of the members had to end up unhappy.

Of course Marinette liked Luka. That part of the whole situation was the easiest to believe in, the easiest to deal with. What hurt was that she didn’t like him _enough_ , that she didn’t _love_ him. She didn’t choose _him_. It was always Marinette and Adrien, even when they were just friends, even when one of them didn’t know about the feelings of the other, even when the tide shifted and Adrien was left to want and to wonder, to hope and to pray he wasn’t too late.

Of course Marinette returned Adrien’s feelings. It didn’t matter how hard she tried to forget the sunshine boy – the infatuation she felt for him only became more _real_ once she decided she would step back and allow them to become true friends. It took almost no time at all for the friendship they managed to nurture to grow into an honest love, and the only reason it took them so long to _finally_ take the step that would lead them to where they were now was fear. She was afraid what she felt was an illusion again, and that this time there would be no recovery for their friendship. He was afraid she’d moved on a long time ago, too tired to wait for a boy who couldn’t forget about his own fantasy.

When the last curtain fell and they bared both of their halves to each other, there was no more turning back. There was no place for anyone to come in between them. There was no chance left for Luka.

He’d watched them from the sidelines. As an _outsider_ , he was able to see more clearly than either of them. He was able to notice things both Marinette and Adrien were too afraid to notice. He’d lost hope long before Marinette came to him that sunny day, nervous but happy, yet at the same time somewhat sad and regretful.

Luka was aware that he had managed to win over a part of her heart. It just wasn’t enough, and he believed that that last fortress would soon be conquered by green eyes. He was wrong – and that piece of him interwoven with her soul came back to destroy him and wound her. He wished he’d never made himself a home in that corner of her heart. Everything would have been so much easier if Marinette and Luka truly were _just_ friends, always just friends, and not a myriad of tempting and painful _what-ifs_ and _could-have-beens_.

There was no changing their story, however. There was no miraculous cure to fix it.

* * *

After an indefinite time, the two siblings broke away, wiping their tears with their sleeves, and slowly regaining their composure.

“Thanks, Jules”, Luka said softly, smiling at his sister in a way only he could, so kind and loving and so _him_.

Juleka smiled back, ruffled his hair (like he always ruffled hers), and got up to carry the two empty glasses to the sink. Meanwhile, Luka got up to get his guitar, and as Juleka washed the glasses, she could hear a soft melody starting to form.

It was heart-breaking, it was bittersweet, it was final.

It was Marinette’s goodbye song.

Juleka couldn’t even imagine how many memories, happy and sad, were being poured into that song; how many shared looks, subtle touches, longing gazes, hopeful moments, hopeless results, barely-there distances, and bittersweet smiles.

Luka smiled as he played it. He smiled, but through tears.

Juleka decided that it was enough for now, that she wouldn’t push for more. She realized that she may never even hear the story of what happened that night – because it was Luka and Marinette’s story. It was their song. It was probably the only thing they had left of something that could have been (could have been _beautiful_ ), and something that they will never have.

As Luka finished the final part of the song, he gently pressed his lips against the strings, and Juleka knew that this was the first and the last time that Luka would ever play it.

When he looked up at her, Juleka was relieved to find that Luka’s eyes were much clearer, more vibrant, and slightly less watery. She smiled in relief and went to sit down on the floor next to him, leaning her head against his knees, letting him slowly card his fingers through her hair.

“… Are you still determined not to go?”, Juleka asked, not wanting to hear either version of the answer, unsure what the right choice would be. Luka just hummed and continued threading his fingers through her hair. After a while, he quirked his lips up slightly.

“We’ll see”, he said, and Juleka drifted off to sleep to the sound of her brother’s broken heart slowly piecing itself back together.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was a tiny bit inspired by Camila Cabello's Bad Kind of Butterflies (which our heroes are more than familiar with), but I've shifted the focus away from the girl and her partner and onto the other guy and then this was created, and one of the reasons I've kept it in my drafts for so long was because I was hoping the gods of creativity would hit me with their inspiration hammer and I would be able to write Marinette's and Adrien's sides of the story, but no such luck, I'm afraid. Please pray that the gods will take pity on me and clonk me with it already. As it is, I'm afraid this fic will stay an only child. Even so, I hope you enjoyed the story, and I hope that the love between our favorite siblings eased the pain you felt for our (maybe? I don't mean to assume) favorite couple.


End file.
